Get a YouTube transcript as clean text
Paste a video link and we'll open it for you. Copy the transcript from YouTube's own panel, paste it back here, and get readable text with the timestamps gone. It's free, needs no account, and uses YouTube's own transcript.
Step 1: Open the video
Step 2: Copy the transcript from YouTube
- Under the video, open the description (press ...more).
- Scroll to the end of it and press Show transcript.
- Click at the start of the transcript, scroll to the end, and Shift-click the last line. Then copy it (Ctrl+C, or Cmd+C on a Mac).
No Show transcript button? The video may not have captions, or YouTube may show it differently on your device. It's easiest on a computer.
Step 3: Paste it here
Deskshed, our desktop app for Windows. It has real save dialogs, works offline, and adds whole-folder jobs for photos and PDFs. Pay once: $5 for the first 1,000 buyers, then $9.
See DeskshedYouTube transcript helper at a glance
- Cost
- Free, with no watermark
- Account
- None needed
- Your data
- Stays in your browser. How to check
- You get
- Clean transcript text to copy or save as TXT
- Limits
- Only for videos with captions; you copy the transcript from YouTube yourself, so it takes one extra step
How to use it
Paste the link
Any usual YouTube address works, including Shorts and youtu.be links. Press Open on YouTube.
Copy the transcript
Open the description, press Show transcript, select all the lines and copy them.
Paste it back
It cleans automatically. Copy the text or download it as a TXT file.
YouTube transcript helper: common questions
Why do I have to copy it myself?
Because this page doesn't contact YouTube at all. Your browser opens the video, and the text you copy comes from YouTube's own transcript panel, so there's no account, no sign-in and nothing for us to store.
Does every video have a transcript?
No. It depends on whether the video has captions, either added by the creator or made automatically by YouTube. If there are none, Show transcript won't appear.
How accurate is the transcript?
It's only as good as YouTube's captions. Automatic ones can get names and technical terms wrong, and often have little punctuation, so check anything you plan to quote.
Can I use the transcript however I like?
Reading and taking notes is one thing, but republishing someone's words is another. The words usually belong to whoever made the video, so check before you post them anywhere.